With the ridiculous clothes being shown on the catwalk at last week’s London’s Men’s Fashion Week and this week’s Hong Kong Fashion Week, we may wonder why the designers go so crazy. I mean, who would wear this stuff to pop to the shops?

But, not all the clothes that are sent down the catwalk are expected to be worn on the High Street. The twice-yearly fashion shows (spring/summer & autumn/winter) are a way for the designer to show what they are producing for the forthcoming season, but the shows also allow designers to show their individual creativity to the fashion industry. How else can they show their weird and wonderful ideas?

Not only that, but some of the buyers who attend the fashion shows will like an idea and ask the designer to develop it. So, it is important for the designer to put those ideas out there, on the catwalk.
In addition to this, each designer needs profile in the press. So, they have to go crazy with their designs so as to get them featured in photos, newspapers and websites. A boring catwalk show will not end up on the front pages, will it?

It is the same with concept cars at motor shows, such as in Detroit at the moment. Concept cars are not meant to be driven, and they may never be produced for the public. But, they do show what the motor manufacturer can achieve. And, their futuristic designs get featured in the press.

When we see what comes out of the fashion week shows in London, Paris, Milan, New York and Hong Kong, it is easy to look at the clothes being modelled on the catwalks and think, ‘God, I would never wear that!’ But, wearing clothes is not always the point of a fashion show.